Erma E. Lee (erma.lee@cookchildrens.org) is Director, Corporate Compliance, Cook Children’s Health Care System in Fort Worth, TX.

As a compliance professional, you may think it’s a good thing for the people who work with you to like you. And, as most of us do, you probably want to be liked and go to some lengths to accomplish this only to conclude, as many compliance professionals do, it is not always possible.

Not only is it not possible in some cases, it may not be the best use of resources. And similar to those who have worked in and around compliance for any amount of time, you very likely have been in positions when you have had to make, or be involved in making, unpopular decisions such as implementing system-wide training on a topic that some felt was either not applicable or too burdensome. If you have yet to be in a situation when you wish you had chosen another profession to hang your hat on, consider yourself fortunate, but do not be afraid of losing ground when it happens.

Before you incorporate a Facebook Like campaign^[1] into your compliance program, remember these two things:

1. People are generally more likely to be considerate when they understand they are being asked to do a thing, whether they like it or not, to be in compliance or ensure the organization they work for is. Telling them why goes a long way toward getting buy-in and therefore increases the rate of compliance.

2. A notable distinction between a like campaign and what is needed to enhance a compliance program is that you do not have to attract your audience. Your audience is predetermined, for the most part, by risks identified through assessments, auditing, monitoring, and other compliance-related functions.

What can happen as you attempt to get staff to like you can be very valuable to compliance professionals and win the team over without much effort, because you learn what they like. With that piece of the puzzle, you can build on concepts that can support you in your efforts to enhance the compliance program.